wfn.org | LWF - After Durban, Facing the Challenges of Racism

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

LWF General Secretary Urges Commitment to Follow-Up 

GENEVA, 12 September 2001 (LWI) - Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) says the recent United Nations World
Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance was a unique opportunity and in several respects "a historic
success," and expresses "little surprise" that such a meeting had provoked
controversy. 

But Noko notes in a statement that the real success of the 31 August - 8
September conference in Durban, South Africa, would best be determined by the
follow-up on commitments made. He urged governments, non-governmental
organizations and civil society to recommit themselves to the ongoing daily
struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance. 

Referring to the churches' outspokenness in the struggle against apartheid in
South Africa in the past, Noko challenges them to raise again a loud prophetic
voice against racism, including rooting out the "racism that still exists"
within and among churches themselves. 

The LWF general secretary, who participated in the Durban conference says he
regrets that the actions of a "few extremists inevitably colored" the
international community's reaction to the legitimate concerns of the Palestinian
people. He observes that critical issues such as the situation of refugees and
asylum seekers were not accorded the attention expected from such a conference. 

The full text of the statement by LWF General Secretary Ishmael Noko follows: 

After Durban 
Facing the Challenges of Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance 

Statement by Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko 
General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation 

9 September 2001 

The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, 31 August - 8 September 2001,
was a unique opportunity for the over 160 states and many civil society
organizations whose representatives gathered there to examine and address
contemporary manifestations of racism and its related forms of discrimination
and intolerance. The conference challenged all its participants, including many
church representatives, to listen to victims and search out the roots of racism
in our own communities and our attitudes. Some were ready to rise to the
challenge; some were not. 

During the days of the struggle against apartheid, many of us-nations,
communities, churches and individuals-were able to externalize the problem in
opposing institutionalized racism and discriminatory practices of South Africa's
apartheid regime. In Durban, we were asked to examine the dark corners of our
own "houses" where racism lurks. It is in part due to guilty resistance to this
challenge of self-examination that the World Conference generated so much
controversy. 

Some have lamented over the level of confrontation that took place in Durban.
But when addressing the gross, continuing, entrenched attitudes and practices of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, confrontation
is both inevitable and necessary. Such attitudes and practices must be
confronted. 

In confronting and redressing racism, however, "hate speech" and "reverse
racism" sometimes emerge claiming anti-racist credentials. The World Conference
was, unfortunately, not immune to this phenomenon. In Durban, one or two groups
were responsible for the spreading of antisemitic images and messages of the
most objectionable and distressing kind. The Lutheran World Federation
categorically denounces the propagation and promotion of such attitudes, and
deeply regrets that the actions of a few extremists inevitably colored the
international community's reaction to the legitimate concerns of the Palestinian
people. 

The recent developments in my own country Zimbabwe, made public as the World
Conference was drawing to a close, demonstrate that it is possible to address
the present consequences of a racist past and counter trends towards reverse
racism. The agreement on the land question in Zimbabwe provided a positive
counterpoint to the polarized discussion in Durban on reparations for past
injustices. The injustices of slavery and colonialism must be redeemed in a way
that is meaningful to those who continue to live in their shadow. A practical
response to the issue of landlessness in many countries around the world is one
of the keys to resolving these so-called "issues of the past" still prevalent to
millions of people. 

Whether the compromise agreement struck in Durban on these "issues of the past"
represents real progress depends on the extent to which it will lead to genuine,
rather than rhetorical, attention to the situations of the peoples and
communities who carry the burden, rather than the benefit, of that past. 

In the tense intergovernmental negotiations in Durban on the two or three most
contentious issues, other critical issues, such as the situation of refugees and
asylum-seekers, did not receive the attention that they should have from a world
conference on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
at the beginning of the 21st century. 

Also very regrettable is that the situation of a quarter of a billion people who
continue to suffer the effects of caste-based and similar forms of
discrimination finds no mention in the World Conference declaration and program
of action. Just one government was responsible for preventing even a brief
implicit reference to this form of discrimination ("discrimination based on work
and descent") from being included in the conference's outcome. Nevertheless,
despite this lack of reference in the conference's official documents, the Dalit
communities of South Asia were so strongly and effectively represented in Durban
that the battle for international recognition of their plight has already been
won. I pray that this recognition will lead to action in effectively addressing
the millennia-old oppression and discrimination suffered by these communities. 

The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance was a historic success. It succeeded in bringing together
representatives of over 160 governments and of very many communities and peoples
who continue to suffer the effects of racism and its related forms of
discrimination and intolerance. It succeeded in providing a forum in which the
whole spectrum of issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance could be opened up and explored for the first time since the
end of apartheid. There should be little surprise that this provoked controversy
and confrontation, since such issues are inherently controversial and
confrontational. 

The real success of Durban, however, will be measured in the extent to which the
issues raised, both formally and informally, and the various commitments made
receive due attention and follow-up in the months and years to come. All those
concerned by these issues-governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil
society-should take this opportunity to recommit themselves to the ongoing daily
struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance. 

I pray that the churches, whose voices were so prominent in the struggle against
apartheid, will take this occasion as a challenge both to raise again a loud
prophetic voice against racism, and root out the racism that exists still within
and among the churches themselves. 

The struggle against racism is permanent, for racism springs up anew in varied
forms despite all efforts to eliminate it. The struggle against racism is
universal, no society is free of this scourge. The struggle against racism is an
ethical imperative, since racism denies the inherent God-given dignity of every
human being. 

Let us all take up the struggle. 

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition.
Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133 member churches in 73
countries representing over 60.5 million of the 64.3 million Lutherans
worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common
interest such as ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.) 

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does not
represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the
dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely
reproduced with acknowledgement.]

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